Sloane McRae
Sloane McRae is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Starfleet Marine Corps, formerly known as MACO (Military Assault Command Operations). As Wing Commander, she is head of the Gryphon Tactical Training Operations at the Grotto. She was originally a pilot of Earth's planetary aerial defences that was absorbed by the MACOs following the destruction of Earth in the Xindi attack on the Sol system of 2153. Background Born in April 1st 2132 in Llandudno, Wales to Jacy McRae, a well-known Scottish architect and Prof. Vivian Haskell, an anthropologist who specialised in Celtic/Gaelic studies. She grew up with older brothers, Luc and Dylan, and the baby of the family, Bowie, the only blond child amongst them four, taking after their mother. In college, Sloane showed excellent abilities in both Applied Sciences and Arts, and gave her father high hopes that she would follow in his footsteps. Instead, she turned to the aerial/space division of Earth Forces, marrying both her real interests: piloting and electronics. Despite her family's liberal lifestyle, Sloane thrived in the military and exceeded as both a flight officer and an electrical and electronics engineer. Her taste for the arts haven't waned though, and she still often paints and plays the guitar. The Outpost will every so often see her onstage there with her former NCO, Gunny Louis Brennan, and other part-time musicians. MACOs She climbed through the ranks to Squadron Leader, first a squad of fighter planes and later space-worthy fighter ships. After the first Xindi attack in 2153, there was a call for reorganization in the military. She was drafted from the Earth Air Force to the Military Assault Command Operations teams and deployed to Mars. The Marine Corps nature of her new unit meant a demotion to Captain, but since she was still in charge of piloting fighters, she couldn't be bothered to give a damn. In her book, defending Earth and her colonies came far above any number of bars on her uniform. She fought Earth's final battle and watched in disbelief as her world and all her family died. She instinctively knew her father wouldn't presume to be worth saving, and though he might have tried to put her mother and brothers on a transport, they would have surely refused to leave him behind. Falling back to the colonies, the surviving ships did their best before the planet killer found them too. When Mars was destroyed, she was reassigned to the NX-01 Enterprise and helped gathering survivors before a convoy was formed to head out of the Sol system for good. NX-01 Enterprise After a tough period of adjustment, Sloane settled in her new role aboard the ship since most fighters had been either destroyed or ditched. The NX-01 was her home for a decade and the MACOs her family. She enjoyed a close and rewarding working relationship there with Col. Gabriel Loman Hayes as his executive officer. The team they formed was such a well-oiled machine that they've earned the nickname MacHayes, which still resonates along the ship's corridors and Barn's. When Col. Hayes was forced to retire due to injury, Sloane, then a Major, was asked to fill his position aboard the NX-01. Never something she had desired, she fought to keep afloat, as both her professional life and her friendship with the Colonel were in turmoil. Later that year, when Enterprise received their first squadron of Gryphons, she also took on the job of training and leading them, hoping her love for piloting would help her cope better. While Sloane managed to pass up a promotion in rank for her participation in the destruction of the Xindi Planet Killer over Acheron after successfully piloting the Romulan scout ship Tecius, she did not escape it when she conquered Coridan and claimed it for Gaia, making Lieutenant Colonel. Gryphons With her personal life developing on Gaia with (then) Gunny Derick Rickman and her ongoing frustration as the SMC CO aboard the NX, a request for transfer was eventually granted. She found herself planet-side for two years to help expand the Gryphon Wing as more ships were built and needed distribution, switching places with (then) Lt. Cmdr. Aaron Tobin taking over as CAG whilst Maj. Shane Riley filled her position as the NX Starfleet Marine Corps Commander. When the Xindi War picked up again, Riley was injured during an engagement and McRae got called back to the NX-01. She remained when Riley healed up and was assigned to another ship as the fleet expanded. And while the Xindi carried on building planet killers and their spheres continued to propagate the Expanse, encroaching more and more on normal space, the war waged on, costing lives but also her near three-year relationship with Rickman. During the Battle at Azati Prime involving many ships from the Coalition, Sloane led a seven-man operation on Azati to infiltrate the underwater facility in order to disable the shield protecting the city. The mission was a failure, their shuttle being attacked and crushed by the native wildlife, namely really pissed-off Xindi Aquatics. Only two MACOs survived. She and Capt. Jake Mercer managed to evade capture and escaped, stealing a Xindi Reptilian ship. After the war, there was a consolidation of the remaining resources, man and ship, and Mercer was redeployed to the SS Vanguard, with his first command. Soon after, Sloane returned to Gaia, with Riley (recently promoted to rank of Lt. Col.) reclaiming his post aboard the NX-01. Currently based at the Grotto (Gryphon Tactical Training Operations Centre), Sloane heads Gaia Squadron and oversees all the squadrons deployed on Starfleet starships, as well as works closely with Cmdr. Tobin, who is now at the helm of the Grifter training program on Gaia. Her second-in-command is Lt. Callan De Graaf, to whom she often leaves the run of the place when her duties, be as a Grifter or Marine, have her travelling. Relationships The end of the Xindi War and the loss of her close friend Capt. Alexandra Styles brought Sloane back to Gaia, where she spends most of her free time caring for Styles' daughter, little Lexie, and old time friend and now widowed Lt. Col. Tom Merrick. Sloane still considers the break-up with Rickman a failure and a painful one at that. On a bad day, there is regret for having refused Hayes, a bitter resentment as it feels like she bet on the wrong horse and forever closed the door on a much dreamed about relationship with the man, despite Rickman's reassurances at the time that he was all in. Not that she blames Rickman for her choices; the Gunny was already under her skin by then. Because it is not quite clear what drove the pair apart, closure was a long time coming. For Merrick's sake, both Sloane and Rickman have worked at remaining friends and there will always be a part of her that loves him, just like Hayes still somehow has a spot in her heart. A diplomatic trip to Risa with Merrick sent their platonic relationship in turmoil when, unbeknownst to them, they were fed an aphrodisiac-laced cake while stuck on a runabout for three days by themselves. After succombing and surviving a two-day galactic sex romp, guilt-ridden, with Styles' spectre still strong between them, the pair agreed to never speak of it again. Their friendship weathered it rather well until Sloane thought she may be pregnant with his child. Sent on another rollercoaster, their relationship was inevitably altered, even though it turned out there was no pregnancy and Sloane suffered from a cystadenoma. It was a rough moment and an eye-opener for them both as Merrick realised just how much Sloane had wanted that baby and that the two of them would have willingly made a go of it. Buried feelings emerged but were once again quelled as to not mess up their friendship, Merrick admitting to her that it was too soon after losing his wife, that he couldn't be certain of how he really felt. It took a chance meeting near two months later with fellow Marine Jake Mercer for Sloane to even consider giving time of day to another bloke. The attraction that had started while hiding in a cave on Azati, would spark again, tentatively at first, in a couple of dates. Quite ironic in itself since Mercer always claimed to not be the dating type. They embarked on a romance, wanting it to be relaxed and casual for both their sakes and see where it would lead. While they both realised they could have easily fallen hard for each other, it wasn't meant to be. Distance was a factor, but also the fact Mercer carried some baggage he wasn't ready to shed. A trip to Dominion-occupied Bajor would bring Sloane and Merrick together again, this time to end up stranded on one of Bajor's moons, Jeraddo. There, after a couple of close calls, Merrick admits his feelings for Sloane, feelings he's been battling with ever since the pregnancy false alarm, and even more so while she dated Mercer for many months. Though she has a small place in the Utopia Planetia Quarter on Gaia, the demands of her previous post kept her aboard Enterprise more often than not, and now that she is back as the head of Gaia's Grifters, she is still often sent for training, evaluations and running war game scenarios, space-hopping between all Starfleet ships carrying a squadron of Gryphon fighters - when she's not sleeping over at Merrick's. Personality Dedicated and, like most soldiers who fought the first Xindi attack in 2153, appears jaded and disillusioned. She often uses humour to defuse a stressful or dangerous situation. A fighter, she still strives to defend her kind despite her cynicism. Be it said that she would never let her sometime bleak outlook on life come between she and her men. She drives a tight unit and expects a hundred percent from everyone she works with – no less. Headstrong and outspoken, she will give you a piece of her mind if you are so inclined to ask. I would hazard a guess that the Lieutenant Colonel is a person hard to get to know; she does not seem to let anyone close enough. I have observed that she is totally devoted to the Corps and the assault team under her command trusts and respects her and she returns the sentiment. If we were back on Mars, I would recommend she loosened up and try a nice, homely hobby but after what we have all been through, it would take more than crochet to bring out a carefree and bubbly attitude in McRae. But she's working at it. Statistics Height: 5'8" Hair: dark brown Eyes: blue Age: 38 DOB: 1st April Place of Birth: Llandudno, Wales Race/Species: Human (Terran) Distinguishing marks: tattoos - raven on her lower back and Earth Air Force squadron on her left shoulder blade; scars - pulse rifle burn on her lower-abdomen and a deep puncture wound in the right thigh. Qualifications: *Electrical and Electronics Engineering Degree *Earth Air Force Officer training *Earth Air Force Pilot training *Advanced Tactics and Evasion training *Infantry and Special Weapons training *Jupiter Moon military space training *Survival: Asteroid/Moons - Class I *Survival: Adaptable Planets - Class K *Survival: Terrestrial Planets - Class M *Starfleet Flight training (refresher on Gaia) *Unarmed Combat (Anbo-Jytsu and Vulcan martial art Asumi) Languages: English, Welsh, Marsi, Vulcan, practical Klingon and Andorian, and limited written Romulan and Xindi. Previous Assignments: Squadron Leader, Earth Forces, Terra; Military Assault Command Operations, Utopia Planetia, Mars; MACO XO/Starfleet Marine Corps CO, NX-01 Enterprise; Commander, Grifters, Gaia; CAG, Gryphon Fighter Squadron, NX-01 Enterprise. Callsign: Raven